Hello!

 I am an interdisciplinary teacher-scholar with a particular interest in language, gender, and social justice. I teach composition, ESL, children's literature, and linguistics in the English department at NCC.  I also teach women's studies and Latin American Studies courses.   In addition, I  coordinate the NCC Latin American Studies Project. 

         On the creative side . . .  I love poetry. I write poems in English and Portuguese, and ocasionally short stories.  
          I wrote "Ground Zero, Ajar" after going to the site of the former Towers about a couple of months after Sept 11, 2001. Smoke was still coming out from the ground and a big piece of metal was lying half buried on the ground, reminding me of images of Roman ruins. There was an eerie silence all around the area, marked by the absence of common sounds and soft, low murmuring of people, as if we were in a church. Amidst the devastation, I could strongly sense life in the soil and in the little spiraling dust devils that dotted the area. 

      “Ground Zero, Ajar” 

I saw a river of crimson blood
Run over the porous body
of the earth
saturated underneath with
torment and fragments of life

I heard hearts beatings
In the rhythm of tomorrow
Until the murderers’ desire
To obliterate
exploded and nothing was left
But roaming dust devils in the air . . .
                             --November 2001

Personal Background

        After graduating from college, I lived and taught in the mid- and upper-midwest (University of Kansas in Lawrence and North Dakota State University in Fargo). I also taught at Humboldt State University in California, right by the Pacific Ocean, with its permanent cold water and sharks who love the frolicking seals and sea lions. Having spent a good part of my childhood and teenagehood at the beach, one day I woke up and realized that it was time to return to the east coast and the warmer waters of the Atlantic ocean.  Now I live a few steps from the beach again and enjoy walks along the water and out-of-this-world sunsets!

Courses I Teach

        More frequently

Eng 030 ESL Composition

Eng 101 Composition 1

Eng 226 Linguistics I (first and second language acquisition / learning)

Eng 222 Latin American Literature

Eng 314 Studies in Children's Literature (fully-online)

WST Introduction to Women's Studies (spring only)

LAS 101 Introduction to Latin American Studies

         Less Frequently

Eng 001 Preparatory English

Eng 102 Composition 2 (Literature-based)

Eng 105 Advanced Grammar

Eng 204 American Literature (from the Civil War on)

Scholarly, Pedagogical, and Creative Interests 

     Scholarly Publications

My main areas of scholarly interest are language, gender, and social justice. I connect my scholarship to the classroom to help students expand their knowledge.

My latest work is a book titled Gender Equality Around the World.  Publication date: August 2008.  Publisher: Kendall/Hunt.

I co-edited the Fall 2007 special issue 19.3 on women, tenure, and promotion of the refereed NWSA Journal on women, tenure, and promotion and wrote an article for the Introduction.  This journal is published by The Johns Hopkins University Press and has a circulation of over 15, 000 subscribers. 

Here are some articles I have in books and journals:

"Gendered Language in Science." In Women, Science, and Education: Past, Present, and Future. Kiev, Ukraine: Melznik, 2006. 

"Histórias de Shakespeare: Entertaining Love Stories or Propaganda?" In Latin American Shakespeares, edited by Bernice Kliman and Ricardo Santos. Morristown, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson, 2005. 196-215.

“O corpo feminino na propaganda.” In Corpo & Midia. Sao Paulo: Arte & Ciencia, 2003. 23-38. 

“Reflections on Language, Gender, Class, and Power Relations with Suggestions for Instructional Applications.” In Promoting Justice through Language and Learning, edited by John Harmon. New York State English Council, 2002. 107-138.

"Pretwentieth Century European and English Women's Linguistic Knowledge and Contributions." Journal of English Linguistics Vol. 25, no. 3, September 1997: 229-240.

      Creative Writing Publications

Poems in the book Songs of Seasoned Women, edited by Patti Tana.  New York: Quadrasoul, 2007.

Poems in  Luna.  Garden City: Nassau Community College, Spring 2007.

     Some Conferences since 2005

July 3-9, 2008 - I presented a paper at an international conference, World of Women/Mundo de Mujeres 08, in Madrid, Spain.

June 19-21, 2008 - I presented a paper at the National Women's Studies Association in Cincinatti, Ohio.

June 2007 - I presented a paper at the National Women's Studies Conference in St. Charles, Illinois.

Nov 2006 - I presented a paper at the Language, Culture, and Communication Conference in Lisbon, Portugal.

Nov 2005 - I conducted an ESL workshop on the phonetics and pronunciation of American English for the English faculty of the Agricultural University of Ukraine and presented a paper on "gendered language in science" at a conference that took place at the National University of Ukraine in Kiev. To see pictures related to this conference, click the Ukraine Conference link at the top of the About Me screen window.

March 2005 - I participated in a week-long institute on women and rights at Oxford University, England and presented a paper on "women, tenure, and promotion."

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Kiev, Ukraine 

Here I am in front of the National University of Ukraine with Dr. Tetyana Kalna-Dubinyuk. This is where the conference 2005 on Women and Science took place. This university used to be a palace.



Room where I presented my "Gendered Language in Science" paper. This article has been published in a book published in the Ukraine. Notice the wall panel with the Justice theme.

Here I am with the faculty of the English Department of another university, the Agricultural University of Ukraine. I conducted a workshop on the phonetics and pronunciation of English for them.

These are Dr. Tetyana and her husband Viktor at their home. This is a typical Ukrainian meal. The plate on the forefront is filled with her vegetarian recipe of borsch (since I do not eat meat of any kind!)--it was heavenly! An Ukrainian meal is typically served in relatively small portions in regular size plates or containers, reminding one of the Spanish tapas serving method. 

This is one of the churches in Kiev. The city was founded in the 11th century. The official religion is Orthodox Greek. 



* A sad chapter in the history of Ukraine was the Chernobyl plant melt-down that spread radioactive fallout with terrible consequences.

In addition to teaching and scholarly work, I work, on a volunteer basis, for a non-profit organization called Feminists Against Academic Discrimination (F.A.A.D). This organization is dedicated to help women faculty who are subjected to academic discrimination. As Vice-President, Treasurer, Conference Co-coordinator, and member of its four committees, I am very involved with all the aspects of the organization. We have a legal fund that provides financial assistance to women faculty who are subjected to academic discrimination and need help with legal expenses, and we organize and offer two sessions at the annual National Women's Studies Association (NWSA).


Here are other professional actitivites in which I engage from time to time:

* Freelance translation and interpreting, from English into Portuguese and Portuguese into English
* Book reviews for publishers
* Women's Studies Program review
* Newsletter editing and writing